In a dream world, all airports would be compact, easy to navigate and packed with inexpensive restaurants and comfortable lounges that are free to use. And they’d never, ever be busy, with nonexistent security and ticket lines.
Sadly, that’s not the world we live in. Airports today are often hopping, and some more so than others.
Recently, the Airports Council International identified the airports that saw the most passengers in 2025. Here’s something that is unlikely to surprise American travelers: Four of the top 10 are in the U.S.
Here’s a look at the busiest airports in the world.
10. Denver International Airport
Airport code: DEN
Location: Denver, Colorado
Total number of passengers: 82.4 million as of 2025 (a 0.1% increase from the prior year)
The Denver Airport opened in 1995 and has been one of the busiest airports since. According to its website, the airport is Colorado’s primary economic engine.
There are a variety of urban legends surrounding the Denver Airport, with some even spreading rumors about the 32-foot-tall statue of a blue horse with glowing eyes that stands outside the airport.
9. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Airport code: CAN
Location: Guangzhou, China
Total number of passengers: 83.6 million as of 2025 (a 9.5% increase from the prior year)
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport serves Guangzhou, the capital of China’s Guangdong province, and sits about 28 kilometers from downtown. It opened Aug. 5, 2004, replacing a 72-year-old airport of the same name, and serves as the main hub for China Southern Airlines.
8. Istanbul Airport
Airport code: IST
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Total number of passengers: 84.4 million as of 2025 (a 5.5% increase from the prior year)
Istanbul Airport is a newer location, having opened in 2018. It handled more than 100 million passengers in its first three years. There are currently plans in place to continue expanding the airport and boost its capacity to 150 million to 200 million passengers by 2027.
7. Heathrow Airport
Airport code: LHR
Location: London, United Kingdom
Total number of passengers: 84.4 million as of 2025 (a 0.7% increase from the prior year)
Although it’s now one of the busiest airports, the Heathrow Airport had pretty humble beginnings. It had a single grass runway and a handful of “hastily erected” buildings when it began operating in 1930 as a private airport to assemble and test aircraft.
6. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Airport code: ORD
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Total number of passengers: 84.8 million as of 2025 (a 6% increase from the prior year)
Chicago’s O’Hare is named after World War II Navy pilot Butch O’Hare, who single-handedly defended the USS Lexington aircraft carrier from nine Japanese bombers in 1942 and received the Medal of Honor for “one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation,” according to the medal citation.
5. Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Airport code: PVG
Location: Shanghai, China
Total number of passengers: 85 million as of 2025 (a 10.7% increase from the prior year)
Shanghai Pudong International Airport opened in 1999 and handles most of the city’s international flights. It has two main terminals plus a satellite terminal added in 2019, and connects to downtown by rail, a metro line and the Airport Link Line.
4. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Airport code: DFW
Location: Dallas, Texas
Total number of passengers: 85.7 million as of 2025 (a 2.5% decrease from the prior year)
When it first opened in 1974, the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was the biggest in the world. And it took some time — proposals for the project began in 1927.
Today it earns the state and local area billions of dollars in revenue.
3. Haneda Airport
Airport code: HND
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Total number of passengers: 91.7 million as of 2025 (a 6.7% increase from the prior year)
The Haneda Airport isn’t the worst place to endure a layover. It has more than 100 food options and more than 100 shops. There are even areas for visitors to shower, do laundry and get their clothes dry cleaned.
2. Dubai International Airport
Airport code: DXB
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Total number of passengers: 95.2 million as of 2025 (a 3.1% increase from the prior year)
Dubai International was founded in 1960 as the city’s first airport. At the time, it had just a single 1,800-meter runway made up of compact sand. It began expanding in the ’70s, and by 2002, it was the second-fastest growing airport according to Airports Council International.
1. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Airport code: ATL
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Total number of passengers: 106.3 million as of 2025 (a 1.6% decrease from the prior year)
The Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport was an abandoned racetrack before it was leased in 1925.
It’s no stranger to hitting the No. 1 spot as a busy airport. It has been the busiest airport in the world every year since 1998, with the exception of 2020.
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